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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. mate — to breed
  3. ground — crushed
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. firm — decided
  11. mate — a partner
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. firm — a company
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. ground — the earth
  16. rest — what's left
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. firm — steady
  19. mate — a friend
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rest — what's left
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rest — a break

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com